Ventura Man Killed in Graduation Night Fight

A Ventura man was shot and killed in Hollywood early Saturday in what police say may be the latest in a series of violent clashes between Armenian Americans and Latinos.

Jose Saucedo Jr., 20, was killed during a confrontation between two groups of youths who were out celebrating graduation night at different high schools, Los Angeles police said. Two others in Saucedo’s group, including a recent graduate of Santa Paula High School, were wounded in the shooting.

A dispute between Saucedo and his friends and another group of youths, described as Armenian Americans, broke out about 2:30 a.m. at a gas station at the corner of Sunset and Crescent Heights boulevards, said Lt. Thomas Ward of the Los Angeles Police Department.

The confrontation escalated, and Saucedo and two friends, whose names were not released, were shot. Saucedo died at the scene, Ward said.

The two wounded males were taken to a local hospital and are listed in good condition, Ward said.

Two people were briefly detained, but no arrests have been made.

Authorities are investigating whether Saturday’s shooting is related to a recent series of bloody clashes between Latino and Armenian American gangs.

Last month, Latino gang members shot and killed an Armenian American man outside an east Hollywood restaurant, Los Angeles police said.

That shooting followed an earlier slaying of a Glendale teenager who got caught in the middle of a gang fight, and a second incident in which Latino teenagers shot at a group of Armenian youths in Glendale, injuring one.

Ward said detectives did not know whether the youths in Saturday’s shooting were gang members.

“But most of the clashes between Latinos and Armenians are in Hollywood and North Hollywood, because of the large Armenian population,” he said.

Saucedo, a 1998 graduate of Buena High School, had worked for two years as a security guard at Ventura County Medical Center. He also worked for the Ventura County coroner’s office and a local mortuary, a family member said.

His cousin, who declined to give his name, said Saucedo was shot when he ran to help his friend who was being hit by one of the Armenian American youths.

“He was not street-smart,” said the cousin. “He grew up in Ventura and was not used to the violence of L.A.”

Family members said Saucedo and his friends had rented a limousine for the evening celebration and had gone to Hollywood to cruise Sunset Boulevard.

Detectives are interviewing a number of witnesses, Ward said. He asked that anyone with information to call Det. Mike Thrasher at (213) 485-6410.